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A Box of Memories
Many of the short stories herein are inspired by memories I have of events in my life or related events I’ve witnessed or read about. Family is important to me so many stories are about relationships, love, sharing and giving, overcoming difficulties. Read about an older man and an abandoned baby. His last days. Three men acting like boys. Ten year old boys and the trouble they get into. The grueling work of dismantling ships by hand. Retirees with too much time on their hands. The dangers of shopping in Outer Space. Visiting a Food Bank. A covered wagon with a family and all of their possessions. Escaping slaves. Seniors with nothing to eat. The revenge of the wasps. Returning to the country of your birth. A Honey Trap. A detective that discovers crimes too close to home.
177 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 2, 2019
4 people want to read
About the author
Allan Hudson
26 books57 followersI live on the east coast of Canada. I'm married to a wonderful lady, Gloria.
I love reading and writing.
My short story The Ship Breakers received Honorable Mention in the Writers Federation of NB short story competition and has been selected by McGraw-Hill Ryerson to be part of their iLit collection.
In 2020, my short story, In the Abyss, received Honorable Mention in the WFNB writing Competition.
My short stories have been published in a collection titled A Box of Memories.
I have a series featuring Detective Josephine (Jo) Naylor. Book 1 - Shattered Figurine. Book 2 - Shattered Lives. Book 3 - Shattered Dreams and soon to be published, Book 4 - Shattered: The Final Act.
The Drake Alexander series, Wall of War & Vigilantes.
Historical Fiction: The Alexanders Vol. 1 1911 - 1920. The Alexanders. Vol. 2 1921 - 1925.
Father is a fictionalized version of true events during WW2.
Code Name: Iron Spear 1941 is a murder mystery set in WW2.
I am a contributor to the Path Anthology series. Autumn Paths. Winter Paths. Spring Paths.
Coming soon - One Bedroom Ark. The story of Jeb Coyne, a lonely widower and Olivia Fletcher - a seventeen year old single mother with no where to go.
I write as often as possible. I love adventure and change. I am fortunate to have a loving family and am a very happy man.
I love reading and writing.
My short story The Ship Breakers received Honorable Mention in the Writers Federation of NB short story competition and has been selected by McGraw-Hill Ryerson to be part of their iLit collection.
In 2020, my short story, In the Abyss, received Honorable Mention in the WFNB writing Competition.
My short stories have been published in a collection titled A Box of Memories.
I have a series featuring Detective Josephine (Jo) Naylor. Book 1 - Shattered Figurine. Book 2 - Shattered Lives. Book 3 - Shattered Dreams and soon to be published, Book 4 - Shattered: The Final Act.
The Drake Alexander series, Wall of War & Vigilantes.
Historical Fiction: The Alexanders Vol. 1 1911 - 1920. The Alexanders. Vol. 2 1921 - 1925.
Father is a fictionalized version of true events during WW2.
Code Name: Iron Spear 1941 is a murder mystery set in WW2.
I am a contributor to the Path Anthology series. Autumn Paths. Winter Paths. Spring Paths.
Coming soon - One Bedroom Ark. The story of Jeb Coyne, a lonely widower and Olivia Fletcher - a seventeen year old single mother with no where to go.
I write as often as possible. I love adventure and change. I am fortunate to have a loving family and am a very happy man.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 3, 2021
It’s unusual for me these days to pick a book of short stories to read. I’m inclined to choose novels in a number of different genres. That’s been the focus of my own writing for the last few years. But Allan Hudson’s delightful collection of stories, A Box of Memories, reminded me of what I’ve been missing.
The characters all feel like real people, sometimes strange, sometimes quirky, but always memorable. Hudson takes you back to your childhood with the two stories featuring ten-year-old Beans and Chops. Okay, you have to be old enough to imagine youthful adventures before cell phones and the internet, but even if you’re not that old, the stories hold up beautifully. Hudson has a knack for putting the reader in the midst of a time and place that feel comfortable.
The stories in A Box of Memories feature characters of both genders, ages from pre-teen to octogenarian, times from the early settling of the West to well into the future not yet realized. Pretty much all of the characters are relatable to most of us, even if we’ve never been so poor we had to attend funeral receptions to be able to get a decent meal, even if we’ve never found an abandoned baby, even if we’ve never escaped slavery in the old south via the Underground Railroad. That’s because the characters are at once appealing and feel real for their time and place. That’s not such an easy thing to accomplish, but Hudson has the talent and the empathy to pull it off beautifully.
One of the advantages of a collection of short stories is that you have clear stopping points. There are no cliff hangers that force you on to the next chapter, even though it may be well past your bedtime. But I found myself reading right through these stories in a few days. I was anxious to see where Hudson’s imagination would take me next, and I wasn’t disappointed even once. A Box of Memories gets my highest recommendation.
The characters all feel like real people, sometimes strange, sometimes quirky, but always memorable. Hudson takes you back to your childhood with the two stories featuring ten-year-old Beans and Chops. Okay, you have to be old enough to imagine youthful adventures before cell phones and the internet, but even if you’re not that old, the stories hold up beautifully. Hudson has a knack for putting the reader in the midst of a time and place that feel comfortable.
The stories in A Box of Memories feature characters of both genders, ages from pre-teen to octogenarian, times from the early settling of the West to well into the future not yet realized. Pretty much all of the characters are relatable to most of us, even if we’ve never been so poor we had to attend funeral receptions to be able to get a decent meal, even if we’ve never found an abandoned baby, even if we’ve never escaped slavery in the old south via the Underground Railroad. That’s because the characters are at once appealing and feel real for their time and place. That’s not such an easy thing to accomplish, but Hudson has the talent and the empathy to pull it off beautifully.
One of the advantages of a collection of short stories is that you have clear stopping points. There are no cliff hangers that force you on to the next chapter, even though it may be well past your bedtime. But I found myself reading right through these stories in a few days. I was anxious to see where Hudson’s imagination would take me next, and I wasn’t disappointed even once. A Box of Memories gets my highest recommendation.
February 14, 2021
A wonderful collection of short stories from the heartfelt to sci-fi – Far Out Mall, spanning various lives of people, old and young. Hudson has a wonderful style of writing that takes you in to the remotest detail and brings his characters alive. Below I’ve listed some of my favorites:
In the first story – Reaching the Pinnacle – Grandpa and granddaughter share a nature hike together and granddaughter shares her good news with him.
Lloyd and the Baby was one of my favs – when 55 year old confirmed bachelor Lloyd finds an abandoned baby in the home he rented out to a young couple and watches them steal out in the wee hours of the night, packing Lloyd’s furniture onto a moving struck, skipping the rent, he scurries over to the home to see what’s left. Lloyd finds they’ve abandoned their six month old baby crying, left in a box, leading to the adoption of the little tyke, renaming him Eugene.
Four Memory Boxes – After Lloyd’s passing, Eugene goes through Lloyd’s sacred four boxes of all his treasures and possesions in the world, and discovers some fishy paperwork about how Eugene was adopted, which doesn’t exactly match up with what Lloyd told Eugene about the truth of his abandonment when Lloyd took him in as his own.
Two Boys, One Wagon and a Secret – the curiosity of young boys and their favorite past times, looking for empty bottles for cash – until their curiosity gets them more than they bargained for when they get curious about smoking.
Food Bank – a humble man delivering his contribution for the Food Bank, taking in the scenery around – the poor, cold and hungry waiting for the bank to open – the man hands his scarf over to a young girl shivering, the scarf his son had given him. The spirit of kindness and compassion.
Funeral Food – one of my favorites, whereby a woman who can’t seem to survive on her pittance in government assistance gets crafty and begins following obituaries so she can attend funerals that offer food after the services. The author takes up a subject where far too many find themselves in this situation. Even in our city of Toronto, they’ve recently announced that 1 out of every 5 cannot afford food. This is an all too common problem in our world of greed, but thankfully, Hudson brings in some compassionate characters.
I also enjoyed the story about the Two Grumpy Old Men, a.k.a. TGOM, and the two follow up stories about these retired men who open up a cafe/restaurant as goodwill, not for profit and a peek into their lives.
This book is for anyone who enjoy stories about a slice of life with richly developed characters who bring Hudson’s stories to life.
In the first story – Reaching the Pinnacle – Grandpa and granddaughter share a nature hike together and granddaughter shares her good news with him.
Lloyd and the Baby was one of my favs – when 55 year old confirmed bachelor Lloyd finds an abandoned baby in the home he rented out to a young couple and watches them steal out in the wee hours of the night, packing Lloyd’s furniture onto a moving struck, skipping the rent, he scurries over to the home to see what’s left. Lloyd finds they’ve abandoned their six month old baby crying, left in a box, leading to the adoption of the little tyke, renaming him Eugene.
Four Memory Boxes – After Lloyd’s passing, Eugene goes through Lloyd’s sacred four boxes of all his treasures and possesions in the world, and discovers some fishy paperwork about how Eugene was adopted, which doesn’t exactly match up with what Lloyd told Eugene about the truth of his abandonment when Lloyd took him in as his own.
Two Boys, One Wagon and a Secret – the curiosity of young boys and their favorite past times, looking for empty bottles for cash – until their curiosity gets them more than they bargained for when they get curious about smoking.
Food Bank – a humble man delivering his contribution for the Food Bank, taking in the scenery around – the poor, cold and hungry waiting for the bank to open – the man hands his scarf over to a young girl shivering, the scarf his son had given him. The spirit of kindness and compassion.
Funeral Food – one of my favorites, whereby a woman who can’t seem to survive on her pittance in government assistance gets crafty and begins following obituaries so she can attend funerals that offer food after the services. The author takes up a subject where far too many find themselves in this situation. Even in our city of Toronto, they’ve recently announced that 1 out of every 5 cannot afford food. This is an all too common problem in our world of greed, but thankfully, Hudson brings in some compassionate characters.
I also enjoyed the story about the Two Grumpy Old Men, a.k.a. TGOM, and the two follow up stories about these retired men who open up a cafe/restaurant as goodwill, not for profit and a peek into their lives.
This book is for anyone who enjoy stories about a slice of life with richly developed characters who bring Hudson’s stories to life.
September 4, 2020
While reading A Box of Memories by Allan Hudson, my first thought was how can anyone come up with these many amazing stories, these many scenarios? The variety of short stories is unreal and if you come upon a story that doesn't interest you, you can easily move on to the next. I have many favorites in this well-written collection.
I wondered why Hudson didn't take a few of these stories and run with them. Make them into full novels.
Cudos to this fascinating author.
I wondered why Hudson didn't take a few of these stories and run with them. Make them into full novels.
Cudos to this fascinating author.
October 18, 2020
Despite being confined to the house because of the pandemic I have found reading novels a little dificult as my usually easily sustained concentration span seems to have deserted me. I guess it's a measure of the anxiety that we are living with here in 2020. However, I have been able to take comfort in the numerous anthologies that I have on my bookshelves and some new ones that I've downloaded on my kindle. One of them being this little collection. Read over three weeks, a story a day, I can honestly say that this little treasure trove has kept me sane.
The stories fall into different genres but are mostly contemporary. As a writer myself I enjoy creating short stories. They are an opportunity to run with a great but small idea that can not be sustained for the length of a novel - Reaching the Pinnacle is a perfect example of that and a great story with which to open the anthology.
Sometimes, when you start what is intended to be a short story, you realise there's more you want to say either for or about the characters. Often in anthologies the reader can pick up on this. So I was very pleased to see that Mr Hudson didn't let me down. Two Boys, one Wagon and a Secret introduces two great little characters in the form of Beans and Chops. A pair of ten-year-old boys with adventure on their minds. I loved the swift pace of this particular story, the wit with which it was told and the neat little plot. The characters were so well drawn, that I wanted to know more and read more. Luckily for me, Mr Hudson did not disappoint as there is a second story which is just as enjoyable as the first.
I felt the same about the character of Lloyd in Lloyd and the baby, the characters featured in Two Grumpy Old Men Cafe and on each occassion I got a follow up story just as heart warming and entertaining as the first.
There's something for everyone in this collection, even Sci Fi fans in the shape of The Far Out Mall. I can thoroughly recommend it.
The stories fall into different genres but are mostly contemporary. As a writer myself I enjoy creating short stories. They are an opportunity to run with a great but small idea that can not be sustained for the length of a novel - Reaching the Pinnacle is a perfect example of that and a great story with which to open the anthology.
Sometimes, when you start what is intended to be a short story, you realise there's more you want to say either for or about the characters. Often in anthologies the reader can pick up on this. So I was very pleased to see that Mr Hudson didn't let me down. Two Boys, one Wagon and a Secret introduces two great little characters in the form of Beans and Chops. A pair of ten-year-old boys with adventure on their minds. I loved the swift pace of this particular story, the wit with which it was told and the neat little plot. The characters were so well drawn, that I wanted to know more and read more. Luckily for me, Mr Hudson did not disappoint as there is a second story which is just as enjoyable as the first.
I felt the same about the character of Lloyd in Lloyd and the baby, the characters featured in Two Grumpy Old Men Cafe and on each occassion I got a follow up story just as heart warming and entertaining as the first.
There's something for everyone in this collection, even Sci Fi fans in the shape of The Far Out Mall. I can thoroughly recommend it.
April 27, 2019
Allan's Box of Memories holds all kinds of stories, many are too short; the reader wants more (at least this reader did), and some point toward further stories, such as The Honey Trap (a future Drake Alexander mystery adventure?) and The Shattered Figurine, about a serial killer called the Unicorn. I purchased the Kindle edition, which was only $4 at the time. Great value for the money, and it should entice you to read his full-length Drake Alexander novels Wall of War and Dark Side of a Promise.
May 9, 2019
Full of short stories inspired by memories or the related events of the author's life, A Box Full of Memories is an entertaining read that is a pleasure to read. Some of the characters are found in more than one story, each of whom the author bought to life from the way he described them.
Although some of the descriptions were a little overdone, I still found myself immersed in the stories. There was only one story I couldn't get into, but it did not stop me reading the rest.
Of all the stories, Wasps! was my favourite, as it geared towards the types of stories I enjoy reading.
Although some of the descriptions were a little overdone, I still found myself immersed in the stories. There was only one story I couldn't get into, but it did not stop me reading the rest.
Of all the stories, Wasps! was my favourite, as it geared towards the types of stories I enjoy reading.
April 16, 2020
A box of Memories by Allan Hudson is a great way to relax and chill. There are stories in this fab. book to suit everyone and are fun and easy to read. I had a great time getting involved with all the characters.
September 15, 2019
My favorite read over the summer.
Read
March 24, 2021Not my cup of tea
February 2, 2021
Simply told relatable short stories-
The stories in this collection will make you reminisce about family, loved ones lost, and childhood memories experienced by a vast readership. You’ll have laugh-out-loud moments, shed a few tears, and simply smile at Hudson’s sweet and nourishing tales.
Lloyd and The Baby, Four Boxes of Memories, and Letting Go hit me straight through the heart. I was reminded of how love can change any human being no matter how set in their ways, the challenges of growing older and choices we must make, and being a young girl and suffering through the death of my grandma, uncle, aunt, and baba.
Two Boys, One Wagon and a Secret and Two Boys and Something Forbidden sent me reeling back in time to my own childhood. I grew up in a close knit neighborhood with plenty of kids. As girls we cherished all things Barbie, but I did have a pretty sweet, red wagon. And of course we had our moments of mischief and curiosity, too.
Two Grumpy Old Men Café, TGOM Café Finale, and CJ and the Real Estate Lady are fun stories of three retirees with hearts of gold. Hudson’s sense of humor shines in these tales and all I can say is: boys will be boys, even if they’re old boys! What I also enjoyed about these and a couple of unrelated stories titled, Food Bank and Funeral Food was the kindness the characters exhibited toward their communities and strong obligation to help those less fortunate. We can all make a difference even if it’s through our generosity of giving a month’s worth of spare change saved in a piggy bank. That’s a lot of giving over 12 months!
Far Out Mall, The Whip, and Wasps! are thought provoking, poignant reads.
A wonderful book both heartfelt and inspirational with a dose of things that make you go, hmmm…
The stories in this collection will make you reminisce about family, loved ones lost, and childhood memories experienced by a vast readership. You’ll have laugh-out-loud moments, shed a few tears, and simply smile at Hudson’s sweet and nourishing tales.
Lloyd and The Baby, Four Boxes of Memories, and Letting Go hit me straight through the heart. I was reminded of how love can change any human being no matter how set in their ways, the challenges of growing older and choices we must make, and being a young girl and suffering through the death of my grandma, uncle, aunt, and baba.
Two Boys, One Wagon and a Secret and Two Boys and Something Forbidden sent me reeling back in time to my own childhood. I grew up in a close knit neighborhood with plenty of kids. As girls we cherished all things Barbie, but I did have a pretty sweet, red wagon. And of course we had our moments of mischief and curiosity, too.
Two Grumpy Old Men Café, TGOM Café Finale, and CJ and the Real Estate Lady are fun stories of three retirees with hearts of gold. Hudson’s sense of humor shines in these tales and all I can say is: boys will be boys, even if they’re old boys! What I also enjoyed about these and a couple of unrelated stories titled, Food Bank and Funeral Food was the kindness the characters exhibited toward their communities and strong obligation to help those less fortunate. We can all make a difference even if it’s through our generosity of giving a month’s worth of spare change saved in a piggy bank. That’s a lot of giving over 12 months!
Far Out Mall, The Whip, and Wasps! are thought provoking, poignant reads.
A wonderful book both heartfelt and inspirational with a dose of things that make you go, hmmm…
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews